chromosome painting: ondrizek’s genetic literacy primer

Geraldine Ondrizek is a research-based artist and professor at Reed College who works at the intersection of art and medical science. After the tragic loss of her first child to a genetic anomaly fifteen years ago, she dove into her family’s genetic history and shifted her gaze to a nanoscopic one. For the last 15 years, she has worked closely with genetic scientists to trace ethnic identities, portray life spans, and depict genetically inherited conditions. Her work ignites interest and inquiry about the influence of cancer and other diseases on both individuals and entire families. Robin Bennett, UW Medicine senior genetic counselor and co-director of the UW Genetic Medicine Clinic, works closely with patients and families who are concerned about inherited diseases or conditions.

In 2009, I initiated and facilitated a unique collaboration between Geraldine Ondrizek, and Robin Bennett, a pioneering genetic counselor and her team of groundbreaking research scientists at the University of Washington’s Medical Genetics Center. It is a pivotal time in medical genetics…a field that is exploding with discoveries, breakthroughs as well as misunderstandings and controversies over how we use and interpret genetic data.

This interdisciplinary partnership took the shape of a public art commission commemorating the 50 years of Medical Genetics at the University of Washington Medical Center and and exhibition at Kirkland Arts Center. CHROMOSOME PAINTING that showcased three bodies of work generated from Geraldine Ondrizek’s two-year collaboration with the department of Medical Genetics at the University of Washington. (See UW Today article: Chromosome Painting: Discovering Beauty in DNA, by Clare LaFond)

One of our goals with this curatorial and public scholarship effort was to make genetics visible, accessible and better understood. As curator, I have taken many people through the exhibit…explaining the art work, Gerri’s process, the collaboration with UW and our intention as a team to reach a broader audience with this work. What I have discovered, in listening to people’s questions about the work, is that everyone has a unique genetic story to tell…and that we can also learn so much from each other’s stories.

“Genetics touches all of us,” …“This collaboration shows the beauty in our DNA and brings this art and genetic science to the public, so we can have a dialogue to help allay fears and misconceptions related to genetics.”